London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

A deal being signed tonight will see the Grade One listed building, which looks out on Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square, leased for more than £60 million to a Spanish developer.

It means tourists with very deep pockets will be able to request a room with a view of a future royal wedding procession or one with Nelson’s Column outside the window.

Developer Rafael Serrano has won a bidding process against rivals who included the billionaire Reuben brothers and consortia backed by Abu Dhabi and Qatar. He is expected to gain a long-term lease but will have to invest tens of millions of pounds on alterations.

Rival plans were thought to have included expensive flats, a new art gallery and a restaurant.

Admiralty Arch celebrated its 100th birthday this year. It was commissioned by King Edward VII as a memorial to his mother, Queen Victoria, and was designed by architect Sir Aston Webb. The building spans the entrance to Trafalgar Square from The Mall, with traffic passing through two of its three central arches.

Traditionally it was the residence of the First Sea Lord and the heads of the Royal Navy. During the Olympics runners raced through the Arch and members of the royal family often pass under it during ceremonial processions.

It was part of the royal wedding route for Prince William and Kate. The eight-storey building has most recently been used as offices for civil servants but is no longer regarded as suitable for that purpose.

Mr Serrano was
previously involved with the development of the Bulgari hotel and other major
London projects

But the Government is keeping the Arch’s freehold because of the building’s importance to the nation’s heritage and security.

The deal is part of a cost-cutting strategy overseen by Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude that has seen Whitehall officials move out of at least 36 central London properties since the election, saving taxpayers tens of millions.

The specialist Government Property Unit has taken a more commercial approach to managing the portfolio of publicly owned buildings.

The Cabinet Office said: “Leasing the Arch will preserve its heritage, provide options for increasing public access and offer taxpayers value for money. It is part of wider reform that resulted in savings of £5.5 billion last year.”

Home to first sea lord and Prescott sex scandal

Maxine Frith

EDWARD VII commissioned Admiralty Arch in 1905 to mark the reign of his mother, Queen Victoria, but he died before its 1912 completion.

Designed by Sir Aston Webb, the arch was the official residence of the First Sea Lord as well as a monument.

With an internal area of 147,300 square feet, the arch is spread across a basement, lower ground floor and five upper floors. The building also marks a natural separation between the royal and state buildings on one side and the public Trafalgar Square and West End on the other.

Ian Fleming is reputed to have come up with many of his 007 plots while strolling under the arch during breaks from his nearby desk job. In 1997 a life-sized human nose appeared on the inside of the northern arch, along with several others at London landmarks. They prompted debate about their meaning until last year when the Evening Standard revealed that artist Rick Buckley had installed them in protest at the “big brother” society of CCTV cameras.

In 2006 the arch became the centre of the sex scandal surrounding the then deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, when his secretary Tracey Temple revealed they had conducted their affair at his grace and favour apartment there.

The offices have become vacant and unfit for use, and the building was identified as one which could be sold off to reduce government waste.